Councillor Heather Deal

Councillor Heather Deal was elected to the Vancouver Park Board in 2002 and elected to her first of four terms on Vancouver City Council in 2005. She served as the Deputy Mayor of
Vancouver in 2016.

Councillor Deal focuses on Vancouver's livability, bringing her passions for arts and culture, animated public spaces, active transportation, and heritage to City Hall. She has brought forward initiatives to:

Support artists

Expand creative spaces

Create the food cart program

Improve accessibility throughout the city

Retain heritage

Support local food and drink

Increase safety of people walking and cycling.

At the regional level, Councillor Deal chairs the Metro Vancouver Regional Parks Committee and has worked on:

Waste reduction

Air quality

The Metro Max cultural website

Ecological health projects

The Experience the Fraser program

At the federal level, she has focused on:

Environmental health

Urban Aboriginals

Infrastructure

Transportation

Increasing women's participation in politics

Councillor Deal is a biologist with a long history of working on ecosystem and habitat issues. After 25 years in the Vancouver Bach Choir, including serving as president of the choir's board of directors and bringing the choir to the Downtown Eastside for free concerts, she has joined the Jubilate Choir.

Raised in Michigan, she received her BA in biology from Oberlin College (Ohio) in 1982 and moved from Cleveland to Vancouver for a medical research job in 1984. After receiving her M.Sc. from the University of British Columbia in microbiology/immunology in 1988, she did cancer research before changing her career path to focus on environmental issues. Councillor Deal developed science/environmental programs for UBC Continuing Studies, designed and taught courses for people restoring fish habitat in rivers for the Province of BC, and worked on marine habitat issues with the David Suzuki Foundation.

Councillor Deal is an avid cyclist, camper, hiker, and reader, and enjoys gardening on her Kitsilano balcony. She also loves to enjoy the great local arts and food that Vancouver has to offer.

Appointment to Council committees

Chair, Standing Committee on City Finance and Services

Appointments to City advisory boards and committees

Arts and Culture Policy Council

Active Transportation Policy Council

Public Art Committee

Vancouver Food Policy Council

Vancouver Heritage Commission

Appointments to regional, provincial, and national bodies

Director, Metro Vancouver Board

Chair, Metro Vancouver Regional Parks Committee

Metro Vancouver Intergovernment and Finance Committee

Metro Vancouver Appointment to the Fraser Basin Council Board of Directors